"Ariel, you are a Gardevoir?" Standing in the doorway was Ben.


"You have been a pokemon the whole time? Why didn't you tell me? I was your best friend." He questioned as his teenage life didn't seem to make any sense anymore.


"Ben, how long have you been standing there?" Jasmine asked, scared out of her mind. If her mom knew she had been caught, she would have her head.


"Long enough to tell you are a Gardevoir, the single best pokemon ever to walk these fair streets. I was walking back into my room to get my pokedex when I saw you transform from a Gardevoir to the Ariel I know. Change back so I can see the real you." Ben defiantly stood there, waiting for her to show him her true self. She did as she was asked and transformed back into her true form.


"For starters, my name isn't really Ariel, it is Jasmine. I was attending your school only for the purposes of education. Schools won't allow pokemon into their buildings so I had to pretend to be Ariel. But even though my name was different, I was still the same person. I may look different, but please don't view me as an outcast." She pleaded with him as she fell to her knees, hands cupped together showing the sincerity in her pleas.


"You lied to me, told me you were someone you aren't. Do you expect me to just say, 'All is forgiven' and we still be the best of pals. You were my best friend and the whole time, you were living a lie." Ben answered back, extremely mad at the discovery he had just made.


"NO! PLEASE! I only did it because I had to. I never meant to lie or hurt you. I wanted to tell you so badly, but I was afraid you'd reject me, like you are doing right now." She lunged at his legs and took a strong hold of them as she continued, looking up at Ben's eyes. "I meant it when I said you were my only true friend. My mother has never let anyone get close to me because she doesn't trust anyone, except for you. She saw something in you and allowed me to be your friend. I don't want you of all people to disown me." She began crying again as she couldn't help it. Ben looked down at the helpless creature begging at his knees and couldn't help but feel sorry for her.


"It's ok Ari... I mean Jasmine. I would never reject your true self. If you haven't noticed already, I pretty much worship the whole Gardevoir race. I have some great news to tell you. My mom said that as long as I kept my grades up, I could transfer with you to a new school. This isn't good-bye, but merely hello." He smiled as he lifted Jasmine up to her upright position. "Here, let's go back to your house. Wait! Don't you have the teleport ability?" He asked like a child in a candy store asking if he could have this and that.


"Well, yeah, but I haven't perfected it yet. If you want, I guess I can give it a try." She said as she held him tight to her body and focused on her home. He felt her real body for the first time, the softness of her fur was softer than any pillow he has ever slept on. Her warm body was inviting and he lost himself in her arms as they began to disappear into the abyss.


They began to rematerialize back at Jasmine's house, exactly on the target she wanted to land on. She had never done this before, she had come close, but not exactly where she wanted to be. She thought to herself "Could it possibly be Ben?" Jasmine snapped to her senses and remembered her mother. She would kill her if she let anyone inside the house, especially a boy and on top of that, he knew about the family secret. Jasmine heard her mom asking from the downstairs kitchen "Jasmine, is that you? I heard about your recent expulsion and I have some good news. Come down here and I'll show you." Jasmine was now panicking not knowing what to do with Ben. She quickly stuffed him into the empty room across the hallway from Jasmine's room.


It used to be a bedroom, but since it wasn't needed in this family and they never had any guests, they decided to leave it alone. Ben stumbled around, trying to find a light-switch. He bumped his head once or twice before finding what he was looking for. Turning on the light, he suddenly wished it was dark again. Hanging from the ceiling were three Metapods, a Kakuna, and two Ledybas were flying around the room. He turned off the light without another thought and sat down in the corner, away from everything. He shivered as he tried to hide in ignorance. (Remember: Ignorance is Bliss!)


"Jasmine, I have some great news. While I was walking in the forest to fetch some berries, I heard from a Lucario that there was an All-Pokemon school on a tiny island called Agaror School for the Elite. It is made for Pokemon to coexist with the humans and if you can, disguise yourself as one, and it is all included in the initial tuition costs. What do you say? Want to give it a try?" The overconfident mother affectionately gazed down at her daughter. However, Jasmine now became depressed. She had just gotten Ben to convince his mother into going to whatever school Jasmine went to. What was she going to tell him when she had to tell him he couldn't come? "I know you miss this school and Ben most of all, but this will get your mind off those trivial topics." She rubbed Jasmine's shoulder hoping to strike a connection with her.


Instead, Jasmine grew angry from this because she wasn't going anywhere without Ben, her one and only friend. "I'm sorry mom, I can't, there is too much for me here." Jasmine was in for it now, and she knew it as she saw her mom's expression change from hopeful to shocked, then switching to anger.


"What do you mean no? I have finally found a school just for pokemon, and you decline it. There is no way I am allowing you to pass up such an opportunity. Why do you even want to stay, Ben?" She asked raising an eyebrow.


"Mom, you know me and Ben are just friends. And second, it's not only Ben, but... Andrew. Yeah, Andrew. He too is a pokemon." She said lying through her teeth.


"Really? What type of pokemon is he?" Jasmine's mother asked, calling her bluff. But Jasmine was determined not to go down without a fight.


"He is strong, able-minded, and has powerful attacks, both hand, errr paw-to-paw and range attacks." Jasmine stumbled trying to find a good pokemon she could fake Ben into.


"Wow, an Arcanine! I would love to meet him someday. Does he go to any school?" She replied. Jasmine was already too deep into her lie to pull out now. So she did what every good liar does when they are in over their heads, they lie some more. (Thank you Dane Cook for the advice. If you haven't seen Dane Cook's Vicious Circle, please see it now. Wait, forget I said that. Wait until you have read this, then go watch it. After you watch it, come back here so you can understand it better and I can get twice as many hits. Yay!)


"He lives in the forest, and he is an orphan. He never knew his real parents." Jasmine smiled as she saw her mom buying every word that was coming out of her mouth. She could probably say that he was a heir to the king of England and she would believe it. "I met him on my way to school two months ago. He was injured and needed help. He told me that he had been attacked by a pack of territorial Nidokings and after he defeated them, one took a last breath shot at him with poison needles, hitting and crippling his left leg. They thought he was intruding onto their women. I had to skip school, but I helped him get to the nearest Pokecenter and we have been friends ever since." Jasmine cleverly came up with on the spot.


"You helped him get to Twilight Town? (Completely made up town, just to let you know so you can't message me saying "NOOOO! IT"S TWINLEAF TOWN YOU MORON AND TWINLEAF TOWN DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A POKECENTER." So yeah, made up town. And if you know that Twinleaf Town doesn't have a pokecenter, then you really are a nerd. But then again, aren't we all if we are reading this?) That is at least a 3 hour walk from here! You didn't teleport did you? You know I disapprove of that until you fully harness the power and master it. That is why I am sending you to Agaror School for the Elite." She asked astonished, then getting angrier as the conversation went on.


"No mom. We walked, rather I walked and he sorta limped, down to the Twilight Town Pokecenter and we discussed a lot of different topics on the way there, finding we are very similar to each other. He also has one parent, a widowed father, and no, he isn't on the market. We clicked and ever since that day, he will always walk me to and from school just so we can hang out. Nothing wrong with that, is there?" Jasmine asked, turning the tables on her mother. (Another point brought up by Dane Cook. Seriously, go watch the clip, even if you have already seen it because it is so funny. Make sure to come back though.)


"No, I guess not. Ok, well since I guess his dad wouldn't have any money, I will have to pay for him to go as well. Just remember I'm doing this only for you to go there without feeling forced to go." She thought about it, and gave her an answer accordingly. "You leave tomorrow, so start getting packed up."


"I love you mom." Jasmine told her as she kissed her cheek respectfully. "Thank you so much." (Dane Cook: Under her breath she muttered "Lie accomplished." Seriously, watch it now.) She bolted upstairs, grabbed Ben, and threw him back into her room. "Ben... ok, listen closely beca AHHHHHH" Jasmine yelled when she saw she was talking to an unknown Metapod. She picked the thing up, threw it back into the room, and grabbed the real Ben this time while she shoved him into her room. "Ok Ben, I need to see that poster of the Arcanine in your room." Jasmine instructed.


"Why do you need my poster? Arcanines are my second favorite pokemon species and I want it to stay posted in my room." Ben quietly explained to her.


"Well, my mom signed me up for some a private school only for pokemon, and I want you to come along too. Sooooo, I'm going to disguise you as an Arcanine. That is the master plan." She told him as she held him tight. She concentrated back on Ben's bedroom and found themselves being whisked away back to his house. They once again landed exactly where she wanted. "It has to be Ben." Jasmine thought to herself. "Here we are, rip it down and let me work my magic." She was now pointing at the Arcanine poster in the corner of the room.


"Do I have to? I could be a Lucario, strong, fast, and smart. And I can talk the human language normally." Ben tried persuading her into letting him be a kick-ass, take names kind of guy.


"Sorry Ben, but I made up a whole story about you being an Arcanine, so you're stuck with this one." She told him as she slowly began to transform his body into an Arcanine. She was a little nervous because if she wasn't very good at transforming herself, so how could she possibly trust herself to transform another person? Rose peddles flew through the open window and started swirling around Ben's stunned body. He felt them press up against his skin, feeling small shocks fly into his body. He held his fear in to show that he was tough to Jasmine. One by one, the peddles began to peel off as he emerged a new man, or should I say, pokemon. The proud Arcanine stood triumphantly, testing out his new looks.


"How do I look, good enough for mom?" He asked teasingly. He strutted his stuff back and forth, finding a new thing every step. He felt a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach and the fur was now making him burn up. Ben began panting as he tried to relieve himself of this immense heat. "Why is it sooooo hot?" He asked? Jasmine only laughed as she couldn't help but crack up. "What? What is it?" Ben demanded.


"Nothing, except that you are a female Arcanine! That hot feeling you feel is heat. HA!" She laughed as she could barely cease laughing.


"HEY! Change me back this instant. I don't want to be a girl." He was mad now.


"You better ask nicely, or I won't change you back." She teased.


"You wouldn't dare." He slowly walked over to Jasmine, feeling a new rage inside him.


"You wanna risk it?" She asked as she turned around and began to walk out his door.


"NO! Will you change me back, please?" He pleaded.


"Ok, here goes." She looked at one of the many pictures of himself he had and transformed him back to normal. She then looked around the room and commented "Now that I think about it, all these posters are of female pokemon. What do you do when I'm away?" She asked sarcastically. He didn't seem to get the joke because he tried defending the posters and created a horrible excuse right there on the spot. You could tell Jasmine was the true liar in this pair.


Ben was never a good liar. He would always find himself smiling or going too much into detail, showing he was only trying to create a story. A true liar keeps it simple, only going into detail if they question it. Also he would get nervous and start stuttering. "You never were a good liar, and now is not the time to practice." Jasmine yelled at him as she was a little perturbed at the thought of what Ben might of done with these posters. "It doesn't matter now, we have to get back to the house before my mother notices I'm gone." Jasmine told him hastily. "Now let's go." She grabbed onto Ben and concentrated on her house again.


They began to dissolve into the little air molecules, but all of the sudden, the bubbles burst and matter from their bodies spilled onto the floor. Parts of Jasmine and Ben intermingled onto the floor as they drizzled down on the ground. Ben's mouth, which was now somewhere underneath the bed, spoke up: "What happened?" Jasmine's ear also happened to be under the bed, so she easily heard him.


"I ran out of enough strength to perform the teleportation move. My body couldn't handle this many powers so close to each other. I have already teleported and transformed more in one day than I have this whole week alone. If we just wait an hour or two, I will be able to bring us back to full form." Jasmine explained. She had totally forgotten about this side-effect of over-usage.


"An hour or two? How am I supposed to wait an hour waiting on the ground?" Ben frantically asked, scared out of his mind.


"I'm here, aren't I? Let's just talk until the time is up. Just like old times." She remembered back when she first came to William C. Bonds High School.


(Flashback)


"Room 316. Ok, 313, 314, 315, 318? Where did room 316 & 317 go?" Jasmine asked as she wandered aimlessly down the crowded hall. The final bell rang and she was still confused about where to go. She was staring down at her room-sheet the school had given to her to help her with the new classes. It didn't seem to help much because she was still lost. Still staring down at the paper, she got hit by a rushing kid, probably late to class.


"I'm late! (I wasn't trying to make it sound like Alice in Wonderland, but it just seemed to flow naturally. Stupid white rabbit.) O, I'm so sorry, here... let me help you up." The rushing kid said as he held out his hand for Jasmine. "Are you alright?" He asked as he took her hand and lifted her back up.


"Yeah, I think so. My name is Ariel Gladstone, but you can just call me simply Ariel." Jasmine lied as she got back up. She hated lying about her name, but her mother was ever so strict. "And who, may I ask, are you?"


"I'm Ben. I'm late to my next class and I was in such a rush, I must not of seen you. But wow, how could I? You are so radiant, you light up the whole hallway." He smiled as he couldn't help comment on her excessive beauty.


"Oh stop, you're making me blush. So Ben, would you happen to know where room 316 is? I see 315, but then it cuts straight to room 318." She asked him.


"Well, room 316 got changed to 423 after rooms 316 and 317 were converted into the computer lab to keep up with the growing technological world, a computer lab. Yeah, I know it sounds stupid. They should of changed your schedule to say that though. Room 423 is down this hallway, take a left, and it is the fourth room on the right. If you hit the cafeteria, you've gone too far. (I can make a Dane Cook reference right here, but I think I've done enough of those for one story.) If you need any more help today, just find me. Here, let me see the rest of your schedule." Ben then took her schedule and made a little map of the school on the back of it. He illustrated how to get to every individual hallway, even showing which way to go as to avoid traffic jams. Every hallway was labeled with something designed just for that specific hallway. The 'Perfume Hallway' was always reeking of bad perfume, the 'Band Hallway' was where all the band geeks' lockers were located and thus, they usually hung out around there. Jasmine could easily tell he knew every single thing there was to know about this school.


"Ok, here you go. If you need any more help, I am in your 3rd, 6th, and 7th period class. Also, we have lunch together so after 3rd period, just follow me." Ben told her. With a smile, he was off to his next class.


(Fast Forward in Flashback to later that day.)


"Hey Jasmine. Follow me for lunch, I know the perfect place to sit." He said. She followed him to his locker so he could grab his lunch. "I'm going to see if I can become an office aide because all I have 1st period is study hall and it can get really boring. Do you think I should?" He asked the bewildered Jasmine. She didn't know anything about this school and she barely even knew him. He still treated her like they've been friends for years, like when you were in Kindergarten and you could be best friends with someone you just met in a matter of seconds. (Sorry, this is a line from "High School Musical". I didn't watch it, my cousin did while I am baby-sitting them. Long story, but either way, I wasn't watching it by choice.)


"Uhhh, sure. If you don't like study hall, you might as well try something that will keep you occupied. Plus, I can see you in the mornings if I need any help." Jasmine leaned up against the locker, thinking about how the rest of the day was going to plan out.


"Jasmine, this is a little unorthodox, but I want to show you where I sit at lunch, just because you seem like such a nice girl." He grinned as he took her hand and they dashed down the hall, Jasmine trying to keep up with the surprisingly fast human, at least by human standards. They ran up a flight of stairs, and then passed through a room that read: "Staff Only, No Trespassing!"


"Ben, are you sure we're allowed?" She asked a little scared about the sign.


"Oh yeah, I know the janitor and he lets me up here all the time." Ben explained as they opened up another door, exposing the wonderful outside roof. "This is normally where science teachers hang experiments and test certain things, but only after class. That is why there are so many beautiful plants."


Ben was right, it was beautiful. Not only the plants, but the way the sun lit up the whole sky. You could soak up all the atmospheric energy out here, the rays converting into happiness in your body. The plants grew out long and lavishing. An abundance of roses and tulips were exposed to the sun's awesome power. Not to mention the solar panels in the corner, creating an even better illuminating show.


"One can really lose themselves up here, the peace and tranquility." Jasmine muttered, awestruck by nature's beauty.


"Yeah, I found it about a year ago and I have always come up here whenever I just want to relax from all life's harsh lessons. Including all this school stress. Jasmine, I know that you are new to this school, so are there any questions you want to ask me?" Ben asked, hoping to get Jasmine to talk more than just simple answers and one-liners.


"Not really, this school is mostly similar to all the other schools I have been to. If you've seen one boring school, you've seen them all." She giggled at her own joke uncontrollably.


"I like your laugh." Ben complimented as he was more absorbed by her shining light than that of the suns.


"Why thank you. I don't think anybody's complimented my laugh. I don't want to know much about the school, but how about you? What do you like to do?" Jasmine asked as she was still flattered by his onslaught of kindness.


"Me? Not much really. I guess I'm kind of shy when it comes to making friends, except for you. You seem to make me feel, I don't know, more outgoing. Heck, I would have never shown this to anyone before I met you. Whoa, sorry about that. Sometimes I ramble about stuff that should be kept in my head when I get nervous." Ben turned away from Jasmine, embarrassed by the spectacle he just made of himself.


"Do you really mean that?" Jasmine asked as she too found it hard to keep a straight face. She blushed and started walking towards Ben.


"Well... yeah. As you can see, I'm sort of an outcast. I can't even become a pokemon trainer until I'm eighteen. But eighteen isn't that far off. I'm turning seventeen in a month. My parents can be so strict." Ben told her, thinking about all the dumb rules they enforced at their headquarters.


"Don't even get me started on strict parents. My mom will not let anyone over at the house, ever. She gives me such ridiculous rules and I can't even participate in any after-school activities." She told him, becoming infuriated at the thought of her mom.


"I guess all parents want what's best for us, even if they sometimes over-step their boundaries. They just aren't good at noticing we have lives of our own and sooner or later, they are going to not include them as much. They want to keep us bound to them for as long as they can before we set off into the world, alone." Ben sounded like a philosopher as he spoke his opinions.


"You know what I think?" Jasmine asked.


"What?" Ben responded.


"I think they get a kick out of it. They sometimes enforce stupid, pointless rules just so they can see our reaction. I mean, face it, they don't have much else to do." Jasmine said as she voiced her opinion on the matter.


"I've sometimes pondered that myself sometimes." Ben said as he thought about it some more.


"RIIIIIINNNNGGG!"


"Uh-oh, there's the bell. See you 6th period!" Ben yelled as he once again rushed out the door, back into the school. Jasmine began to cry as she knew that no matter how great of a guy Ben was, she could never be his friend due to her mother's over-protection. She wanted to break free of her mother's hold of her, but she could never bring herself to argue with her mom. She still loved her, and knew that everything she did, she did for the good of the family's secret. She wiped the tears from her face, sniffed up the snot from her nose, and went back into the building with a plastered smile across her face, hiding her true feelings underneath an illusion of happiness.


(Fast forward, yet again in the Flashback. I promise this is the last one. This is a week later after the first day of school.)


"Jasmine, why have you been hanging out with that kid without my permission?" Jasmine's mom asked. She wasn't too pleased with Jasmine at the moment.


"Moooom, his name is Ben, and I have been hanging out with him because he is my friend. For the 1st time, I really want a friend other than just because I am lonely. We hit it off at school and we have been friends ever since. I don't care what you say, I'm going to be friends with him." Jasmine shot back. She was fed up with her mom dictating everything she did in life and she was finally sticking up for what she felt was right.


"I think he is a fine person and I give you permission to be friends with him. Now do you care what I have to say?" Jasmine's mom smiled as her daughter ran up to her, hugging her and saying 'thank you' over and over again. Letting go now, Jasmine fell back and went back on the defense.


"What's the catch? You have never given me permission for a friend before and now you, all of the sudden, say it's ok. Something's not right." Jasmine looked at her mom, suspicious of when she was going to drop the bomb.


"What? Is it impossible for me to find that the boy isn't an idiot like the rest of your so-called friends? I saw something in him that made me feel safe about you and him hanging out. Now, don't think I'm going easy on you. I still want you home by 8 and you can only hang out with him, no one else. I want you to always be within a 5 mile radius of the house, no where past the school. But other than that, have fun."


"8 o' clock? A 5 mile radius? Com'on, let me have some fun. What can I do other than go to his house or hang out with him after school? What if he wanted to take me to a movie or something? I have never seen a movie and I really want to." Jasmine begged her mother to lighten up.


"Ok, ok. 8:30, but no later. And you have to tell me a week in advance about if you want to go somewhere out of the 5 mile radius. Just remember the only reason I'm doing this is because you look so happy now." She took a hold of her daughter and held her tight. Jasmine was still mad about the limits, but knew her mother was being lenient enough.


(Back to Present)


"Like old times, eh?" (No, I'm not Canadian. Americans can say 'eh' too sometimes.) Ben thought about the first time he met Jasmine and the fun things they did together. The two friends laid there (like they had a choice,) and talked about every topic they could think of. How long Jason Anderson was going to be single? Who would be president? This caused some controversy between the two and this lasted for a full hour. Once, in the middle of the conversation, Ben asked about Jasmine's past. All she did was answer: "I don't want to talk about it, maybe another time." So they kept up with talking about pokemon and how their lives are different than humans.


After 2 � hours, Jasmine finally had enough strength to change them back into their fully animated bodies, but only their regular forms. She wasn't going to risk another catastrophe by teleporting or even changing her own appearance. "We'll talk about this whole school thing tomorrow." Jasmine told Ben as she crawled out the window. Ben wanted to say something important, cheesy if necessary, but nothing came to mind other than "Good-bye. See you tomorrow."


Jasmine took the long way home in order to keep off the streets. Use the back woods and blend in with the other pokemon. She tried to act like any other normal pokemon, but found it hard when they were all either fighting each other, playing with each other, or looking for a companion. The blending wasn't working all that well and she would answer a pokemon who said something to her in English, unsure about her natural language anymore. One instance, a Ninetales came up to her and began asking her a bunch of very vulgar questions. She ignored his persistence and kept on walking, trying to keep to herself.


However, this Ninetales was no push over. He jumped in front of her and began yelling at her that he was to be answered when talked to. He lunged at her, trying to overtake her, bad move. She quickly dodged his attack and hit him with Psychic. He was shocked by her strength, but wasn't going to be defeated that easily. He shot a Flamethrower attack at her, which she used Barrier and deflected his attacks, sending them back at him. The Ninetales quickly leapt to the side, surprised at her wide inventory of moves. He grew angry now and tried to use take down on the unsuspecting Gardevoir. She cleverly used double team, confusing the furious Ninetales. He stopped and guessed at one of the many Gardevoirs in front of him. Jasmine took this opportunity to try a new move her mother told her only a month ago. She took careful aim and used a Mega Punch right into his jaw. The stranger's chin met dead on with her fist and sent him head over heels, flipping hard onto the ground. He was down, struggling to get up when she hit him again with another hard Mega Punch, just to make her point clear. The Ninetales retreated after getting up saying: "This is too much just for a girl." He stormed off, mad and edgy about his recent humiliation.


"Nice job Gardevoir. You are one tough pokemon. It would be an honor for you to join my team." A mysterious stranger told her. He was wearing some baseball cap which was down, covering up his face. He had been leaning on a tree, carefully observing the whole fight.


"Thank you. Sorry about the team though, I can't. I have a prior commitment." Jasmine responded to him. She kept on walking to her house, which was only a mile away.


"That wasn't a question." Out from the shadows, walks the best pokemon trainer in all of the William C. Bonds High School student body, Jason Anderson!Chapter End Notes:Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoyed it, don't forget to review. A lot of bolds and italics on this one, don't know why. Also, scene in flashback on roof was inspired by, a tear comes to mind when I have to say this because no guy should ever have to watch this, High School Musical. I still shuddering after thinking I had related my story to that piece of Disney crap. No offense to Disney in any way, other than Disney sucks. Sorry, I should shut up now. (Have a wonderful stay here at agn.ph and remember, dreams do come true!